Protection in software analysis refers to the measures taken to safeguard software from reverse engineering and other forms of analysis that could lead to security threats. This is often done through a combination of technical measures and legal protections.
Protection Techniques
Here are some common techniques used in software protection[1]:
- Obfuscation [2]: This involves making the software’s code difficult to understand in order to hinder reverse engineering efforts.
- Encryption: This involves encrypting the software’s code or data to prevent unauthorized access.
- Anti-Debugging Techniques: These are techniques used to detect and disrupt debugging attempts, making it more difficult for an attacker to analyze the software.
- Legal Protections: This includes measures such as copyright laws and software licensing agreements that provide legal protections against unauthorized analysis or use of the software.
References
- [1] “Software Protection through Anti-Debugging,” Michael N Gagnon, Stephen Taylor, Anup Ghosh, Symposium On Applied Computing, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4218560. [Accessed on: 06 Feb 2024].
- [2] Hui Xu, Yangfan Zhou, Yu Kang, Michael R. Lyu, “On Secure and Usable Program Obfuscation: A Survey” Dept. of Computer Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.01139. [Accessed on: 06 Feb 2024].